3 Barred Rock Chickens

[lawrenelisha]

I just got my first chickens on Saturday. I got 3 year old barred rock. I have gotten 3 eggs since 11:30 on Saturday..I know they ovulate every 25 hours in order to lay but yesterday I didn't get an egg from my chicken that laid on Saturday. Is this ok or am I already doing something wrong?? What is the best thing to feed them? I have caught june bugs to give them for extra protein as well as other bugs around the yard. The only feed I could find around here is 16%protein. I want to get the most out of my hens but I am still learning!

 

[tmarsh83]

The stress of moving can affect laying. A change of diet can affect laying. Few birds produce seven days a week, you will have off days.

The other factor is how do you know they are 1 year old? It's not beyond the realm of possibility you were sold older layers, on the way down, as younger birds, and your production is already in decline.

A 16% layer feed is fine for the birds, but you need to give them some time to settle in before you start gauging their efficiency.

The other factor I'll mention is the coop/run. If they are overcrowded, or stressed from those conditions, egg production can suffer as well.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Congratulations on getting your chickens. Poultry keeping is very addictive and you will be surprised at how attached to them you become. They really are "pets with benefits"

As the previous poster explained, it is perfectly normal for them to stop laying after moving to a new home. It takes about 24 hrs to complete an egg in a chickens body(different breeds vary), so there will be eggs in their system which will have to come out but after that, you can expect a lull of 2 weeks or so before they settle down and start laying regularly again. Moving and getting used to new surroundings and routine is stressful for chickens. If they start laying sooner than 2 weeks, consider yourself fortunate.

16% layer is fine as long as you don't give them too many other treats like bread, scratch and other low protein items as they will fill up on those and not eat so much of their pellets and hence become deficient not only in protein but also calcium. Meat scraps, fish or insects and even eggs are good, as they are higher in protein, but all things in moderation and you really want the majority of their diet to be the layer feed.

Good luck with them. I'm sure you will enjoy the experience.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[lawrenelisha]

Thank you for the information! I didn't think about the stress of moving..good point. They have a house coop and then we built a 3x6 run that is 3 feet tall as well for them to roam in. They seem happy with that!

 

[lawrenelisha]

I have only had them for a couple of days but we LOVE them so far and have learned so much already!

 

[tmarsh83]

Thank you for the information! I didn't think about the stress of moving..good point. They have a house coop and then we built a 3x6 run that is 3 feet tall as well for them to roam in. They seem happy with that!

Without dimensions on the coop, i don't know for sure, but 18 sq ft in the run is about half of the minimum anyone would recommend. Your coop should be almost that size, for three full grown large fowl like BR.

 

[lawrenelisha]

Really? That's not at all what I was told by several chicken owners around here

 

[tmarsh83]

Really? That's not at all what I was told by several chicken owners around here

The pretty standard guideline you see around here is 4 square feet of internal coop space, not counting nest boxes, per bird, and 10 sq ft in the run. Those are minimums, more recommend more, especially on the coop side, for smaller flocks. As the flock and space gets larger the amount of "free space" for birds goes up, so you can cheat it a little sometimes.

Again, without a picture, or a better explanation of what you have, it seems pretty minimal.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: Agreed with TM. To have less than the minimum recommended for a back yard flock is to invite behavioral issues that often result in blood shed. Crowding also leads to stress which decreases their immunity, making them more prone to disease and parasite infestation. More space makes it easier to tend them also.